Now there are Three: Journey to Hell
by Sage1988
Summary: Two years have past since Rani's return, now she and the Doctor must work together again to save all of time and repaid an old debt they both owe. Sequel to 'Now there are Three'
1. Chapter 1

_I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters_

_Part 2 of Now There are Three, set around the End of Time episode_

_This chapter recaps the events so far and what's happened since _

**Chapter 1 – Recap of Events**

_I' am the Rani, a Time Lady from the planet of Gallifrey. I' am one of only three survivors of the Time War where the Daleks and the Timelords fought each other for mastery of all of time and space_

_Seeing no end to the war and desperate for an end to all the fighting, the High Council overthrew President Romana and installed the dictator and madman Rassilon upon the Timelord throne. He then began to plan for the Ultimate Sanction where all of reality would be destroyed to allow the Timelords to ascend into beings of pure consciousness. But a group of Timelords including myself and the legend known as the Doctor prepared a plan to seal the war and all those in it within a time lock to keep the hell the war had become from the rest of the universe. At the final battle we put the plan into motion and although it was successful many of the members of our rebel group were trapped inside the lock. Only three time lords escaped the war and none of us knew any of the others survived. _

_Eventually we all came together when the Master used a Paradox Machine to pervert the course of history and the twisted human race now known as the Toclafane to conquer the Earth. He kept the Doctor like a bird in a cage and put me to work on resurrecting the TimeLord race. I succeeded in creating two hundred Timelord infants from collected DNA samples and a formula to change a human into one of us. The first human to undergo this procedure was a young woman named Sally Sparrow and despite it being painful it worked and she became the first new Time lady since the war. After that Lucy Saxon, a puppet of the Master that he made his wife was used to expand our numbers again, I broke his hold over her and turned her to our side, so three became five with two hundred more on the way. _

_But the Master's rule was short lived as the combined efforts of myself, the Doctor and the entire human race overthrew him but before he was killed he mortally wounded Martha Jones, the Doctor's companion and love of his life. But thankfully the formula I invented saved her life and made her a Time Lady as well. _

_When our Tardises were repaired we went our separate ways; Sally, Lucy and I along with Miles a human I had befriended stayed on Earth to take care of the infants and work alongside UNIT to protect the Earth while the Doctor and Martha left to travel in space and time. Occasionally I and my small team went on short trips, on one of these trips we discovered another Time Lady who had missed the war, my and the Doctor's granddaughter Susan. After she joined us we took several more trips before returning to Earth. We recovered the Master's Tardis from the end of the universe and the abused machine quickly bonded to Susan allowing her to travel herself but she chose to stay on Earth, making short trips to get things for me if I needed anything. _

_It was on one of these trips that Miles had a little bit of an accident, well little is a big understatement _

_He and Susan went to the year 354,988 planet Kota Prime to retrieve a few crystals I needed for some equipment I was building. Once there they encountered a swarm of advanced nanogenes that had yet to be programmed. They scanned Susan and decided her physiology to be the norm, so they went about 'fixing' Miles, turning him into an almost identical copy of Susan. Susan deactivated the nanogenes before anyone else could be 'fixed' but the damage was done. The nanos didn't keep a copy of Miles's original genetic makeup so he was stuck as a teenage time lady. The adjustment was hard but eventually he learned to deal with it and eventually renamed himself Melody after his/her maternal grandmother_

_I soon took on a new pupil on top of the ones I already had when the Doctor dropped Jenny (his cloned daughter) off with me, told her he thought I could teach her better than he could about what she was. Jenny was despondent at not getting to travel so I left Susan in charge for a while and took Jenny on a holiday around the galaxy for a few months, it made her feel better_

_The Doctor and Martha were joined in the his Tardis by a delightful woman named Donna Noble and shortly after returning to Earth to deal with a Sontaran Invasion that UNIT called them in for as they still had their doubts about me they were married in a big ceremony organised by Francine Jones. Trisha Jones acted as Maid of Honor and Jack Harkness as Best Man, near all of the former companions of the Doctor were in attendance (some brought by Susan and Myself from all over time and space), as were Jack's Torchwood staff (I hid myself under a perception filter so to not be seen by my human clone), Sarah Jane and her children, UNIT Personnel both past and present and many others from all over Earth and the Cosmos. The Galactic News Service called it the biggest wedding in history_

_The newly weds slipped away to have their honeymoon on the planet Florana while I took Donna and her grandfather Wilf to see the time babies that were finally ready to be born. It was breathtaking to see them all come to life and take their first breath, to hear them cry out and smile. I'd modified the pods to accelerate their ages to about two years of age and download into the young minds basic reading and writing skills to get them started._

_Eventually the Earth was stolen by the Daleks and their creator Davros, I hid the time children as they were now deemed and my team under a stealth device and took my Tardis to try and deal with the metal monsters. I then became embroiled in the Doctor's network (after he showed up rather late) and hid near the artificial planet the Daleks had created as a base._

_As I listened to their plan to use a Reality Bomb to destroy everything that ever was and whatever may be my horror grew as did the Doctor's. After transmatting aboard I was captured trying to sabotage the bomb and hauled down to the cellar where Davros remained a prisoner to his own creations. I slivered as I was led there, back in my experimentation days I created some truly horrific things and they turned on me but I had learned what lines should never be crossed but Davros was so lost in his madness he either failed to see what his creatures were or simply didn't care. _

_But then when all the plots had failed and all hope seemed lost, Donna Noble saved the day by using the Doctor's mind that she'd absorbed to defeat the Daleks and save the universe. We all escaped and worked together to tow the Earth back into place with some help from my own Tardis. As Rose Tyler and the Metacrisis Doctor were left in another universe I slipped them both a vial of my timelord formula each and told them to start up the Timelords in their universe. After I watched as Donna struggled to hold on as the Doctor's mind began to overwhelm her wishing I could help, but even if I gave her the serum it wouldn't work fast enough to save her so the Doctor purged her memories and left her at home. _

_Martha and I had to work hard to help him after that but eventually he did start to find some joy in life again when Martha told him she was pregnant. Jenny was over the moon about having a brother or sister but Susan felt a bit strange all over again having an Aunt that was younger than you and now maybe having another aunt or even an uncle that was baby felt a little daunting. The Doctor's new companion Christina soon came after Martha convinced the Doctor to let her on board, the adrenaline junkie fitted the Doctor's lifestyle perfectly although he did start to tone it down after Martha told him she was having his child. _

_Soon the Doctor discovered a way to change history without really changing it, a Mars Base in the mid twentieth first century tested the Doctor as never before when he had to fight the Flood a water based creature that took humans as hosts. He wanted to save them but couldn't take them home as their deaths were so important to history, so what he did was take the two remaining survivors to me after Adelaide Brook killed herself rather than risk the future the Doctor had imparted to her. He told me to keep an eye on them. We got into a heated row about I wasn't running a boarding house and I wasn't going to solve his problems but I took the shell shocked humans in and put them to work, eventually giving them the serum as they earned my trust _

_After that the Doctor returned to Earth to spend Christmas with Martha's family and my own group, but the Doctor and I were about to launch ourselves on to a mission that I had been planning since the sealing of the time lock on the war_

_A mission to hell..._

* * *

><p><em><span>I decided to write sequel rather than try to continue the existing story as this is more interesting<span>_

_Thank you for your correspondence Mad Eye Harry_


	2. Chapter 2

_I do not own Doctor Who or Torchwood_

_Thank everyone who read the first chapter and thanks again to those who reviewed_

**Chapter 2 – Christmas Meeting**

_December 25__th__ 2009, Evening aboard the Rani's Tardis_

The grand hall of the Rani's Tardis had been transformed by the Christmas decorations put up by the machine itself. Red and gold tinsel lined the dark red wooden panelled and a fire roared in the hearth (behind a fire guard of course) as the two hundred time children ran about playing with the toys the Doctor and Rani had gotten together for them as presents and building forts out of the thousands of books that mounted the walls while the adults watched from comfy armchairs sipping hot chocolate by the great Christmas tree decorated with tinsel and baubles of so many different colours that when the fire light caught it, the twinkle was magical.

Martha sat in the middle, with a glow about as she tenderly stroked her swollen belly with pure happiness radiating off her as the Doctor wrapped his arm around her shoulder and placed his own hand gently on her stomach a warm smile on his relaxed face. Rani sat in her own high backed armchair surrounded by Susan, Sally, Jenny and Melody who sort of collapsed on the carpeted floor having been exhausted playing with the children and drifting into a peaceful sleep. Lucy and Christina were quietly conversing with Francine and Clive Jones. Trisha Jones sat with Mickey her own belly swollen though not as bad as Martha's being a few months behind her in pregnancy, Trisha and Mickey were curled up asleep on another sofa, wrapped in each other's arms. Yuri and Mia after being lip locked under the mistletoe the Tardis had mischievously put above them decided to go over and start playing with the children after finishing their own hot chocolate

The room was filled with a warm tender relaxed atmosphere; no-one wanted it to end

But Rani looked into the fire and contemplated the data she'd just received and the fear of what it could mean running through her mind

She'd tell the Doctor the following morning, but for now it was best to let everyone enjoy Christmas

* * *

><p>The following morning, Rani woke in the grand hall early as everyone in the hall was still asleep, the children covered in blankets and little pillows supported their small heads, the soft carpet acting just like a mattress<p>

Rani smiled at her machine's kind actions and got up from her comfy chair and walked over to the Doctor who slept next to Martha. Rani gently shook him to wake him

"Hmm" he said sleepily as his eyes slowly opened and he blinked the sleep out of his eyes when he saw who had woken him "Rani what is it?"

"We need to talk now" she said her serious expression hinting to him her reasons being very important indeed

"Alright but not here" the Doctor said, gently removing himself from Martha's still sleeping form and tip toeing across the large hall and as quietly as possible opened the door and slipped out

"Ok what's this about?" the Doctor asked as they reached her control room with a smile on his face, the atmosphere from last night still in his mind but the solemn look on Rani's face made him feel uncomfortable

"I've been monitoring the time lock we made to seal the war away from the universe" she told him and his expression immediately hardened and his eyes burned with guilt, anger and regret as memories of the war and what he and Rani had had to do to stop that chaos from spreading to the rest of the universe flashed through his mind, the same things were passing through her own mind

"The lock is impenetrable, it can't be broken" the Doctor said in a supposedly confident voice but uncertainty could be seen peeking out in his gaze

"Apparently not, it's weakening from the inside, soon it'll breech and you know what happens then" Rani told him unconsciously holding her breath and fear started to grip her soul

"That's impossible! How could they do it?" he asked as he felt fear too, images of the hell that could engulf the universe rising up within his mind. He gripped the back of his neck turned away from her only to start pacing

"I don't know, we have to stop them" Rani told him

The Doctor stopped pacing and walked quickly up to her "How? We've here outside"

"I built a ship capable of safely passing through dimensional barriers years ago and stowed it here, we could modify it with some ideas I had to let it pass through the lock without breeching it." Rani said gaining full control of her emotions again and as her brown eyes connected with the similar shade of the Doctor's she saw he was suspicious but regaining his own self control

"Why would you even plan for a mission into the war?" he asked

"Do you even need to ask; how many of our group were trapped in there when he sealed the war? Shall I remind you of some names; Damon, Iris Wildthyme, Drax, Cho Je-" she was interrupted during her rant by the Doctor seizing her arms in an iron grip

"I know! I know their names! I can remember them as clearly now as then. But we couldn't" we faltered before recovering "We couldn't risk going back to get them, what if Rassilon got out?"

"Well now we have to go back, if we don't everything burns" Rani told him and she pushed her arms gently out and the Doctor released his grip

"Just you and me, not them" he said quietly

"Agreed"

* * *

><p>A next three days the rest of the two groups didn't see much of the Doctor and the Rani, both had sealed themselves in the Small Ship bay aboard Rani's Tardis and had not come out<p>

Finally they emerged looking grim, tired and unwashed. They called everyone to the grand hall and an almost oppressive atmosphere fell upon the large room

Rani spoke first "You all know about the Time War and how it destroyed near all the Timelord Race besides those of us here, but there is one secret that we have kept from you all" everyone looked surprised and shocked but the Doctor started talking before anyone could interrupt

"The war descended into hell, people dying in the most horrible ways only for time to resurrect them for them to die all over again with no end. The things born because of the war, the Daleks weren't the only bad thing; The Skaro Degradations, The Nightmare Child, the Horde of Travesties, the Could-Have Been King with his army of meanwhiles and never-weres. The level of death and destruction never before seen in the universe that threatened to engulf the whole of creation. Not even the Timelords could survive all that, so Rassilon the Lord President of Gallifrey came up with a plan he called the 'Final Sanction'. Where the tears in time and space would be allowed to rip fully open..." The Doctor explained but Susan interrupted him

"That's suicide that would destroy the entire universe" she shouted disbelief all over her face

"Which is what the Timelords wanted, Rassilon planned to ascend the Timelords into beings of pure consciousness alone that way they would survive and everything else dies" Rani told her and Susan's disbelief and everyone else's turned to horror

"But the High Council, the people would never support such a plan" Susan said

"You're thinking of the Timelords of old Susan, the way The Rani and I chose to remember them. But when they went to war, an endless war and it changed them, the corruption spread so far that virtually no one opposed the plan, but a small group of timelords including ourselves learned of the plan" the Doctor paused to take a breath "We had to stop them"

"So we came up with our own plan, lock the Time War up in a Time lock that would keep it from the rest of the Universe forever, but Rassilon moved quicker than we anticipated and only the Doctor and I were in position to escape the war before we initiated the plan and so our allies were trapped in the war" Rani told them guilt playing across her and the Doctor faces and the full horror of what they were being told sank into the assembled group's minds

"But recently I detected a weakening in the time lock from the inside, somehow the Timelords are escaping and if they breach the lock all of the war will spill out into the universe and the Timelords will implement the final sanction, so we have to stop them" Rani told them

"How?" Mia asked

"We've modified a small ship with some ideas I had that will allow it to pass through the time lock safely and the Doctor and I will enter the war, stop whatever their doing and escape" Rani told them

"Not on your own you're not" Melody said and the others murmured in agreement but The Doctor shook his head

"None of you are going, Rani and I know what to expect and this way we're the only ones risking our lives. None of you have ever gone up against the timelords but you've seen my enemies and the Timelords are a thousand times worse than that, if this is to be stopped then Rani and I must go alone, for the sake of everything I have to plead with you all to stay here. I know it goes against your instincts but please stay here" the Doctor told them in a voice that so stern and strong it brokered no argument but as the Doctor's eyes connected with Martha's he saw the tears in her eyes and his own eyes moistened

* * *

><p>The next day they just left, they said no goodbye; it would have been too painful and final, since both intended to come back<p>

They stood at the helm of the modified Dimension hopping vessel and set the co-ordinates. The ship was based on a Chula Warship much like the one Jack had used, but Rani had equipped the vessel with transcendental engineering making it like a Tardis bigger on the inside, armed it with temporal torpedoes, and improved its cloaking device amongst other things. She'd even changed its control console into a centre column much like the ones used by a regular Tardis

The ship took off and activated its main drive and plunged into the war

* * *

><p><em><span>Hope You Like it<span>_


	3. Chapter 3

_I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters_

_Italics - Dreams_

**Chapter 3 – Nightmares **

The passage was not smooth and nor was it like the shaking from the Doctor's own Tardis but violent shaking, so much so that the Doctor and Rani could not stay on their feet and were thrown to the floor, they both felt like they were in a bottle that someone was shaking very violently, sparks flew from the console anything that wasn't secured was thrown from their places

But then the shaking slowly started to relax until finally both the Doctor and Rani could get to their feet and see the displays on the console.

"We've passed through the lock, we have arrived inside the war" Rani told him, anticipation of what might happen filling them both with nervous energy. The Doctor took a look at the display monitors on his side of the console

"We're in the Dalamite Sector" he said "No sign of anybody yet". The Doctor felt very on edge the last time he had been here, he had seen Davros fly into the jaws of the Nightmare Child. He had tried to save him, but in the deepest darkest recesses of his soul he wished it had been the end of the mutated scientist, he quashed this thought the moment he realised he had it.

"Setting course for Gallifrey" Rani said quietly, she had chills of her own. The last time she'd been in this area had been the Battle of the Montrosis Nebula, where forty thousand Battle Tardises engaged seventy thousand Daleks Battle cruisers and fought each other to near mutual destruction with Rani being the only survivor while thirty five million one hundred and twenty thousand died

Their ship sped through space unheeded through space before flying pass the Montrosis Nebula and then the ship shuddered and its engines faltered

The Doctor went to look at the engines section of the central column "They just stopped, no error reported they just stopped" he said to his co-pilot

Rani looked at readings from outside the ship and aside from the nebula saw nothing.

Then Rani and the Doctor felt like ice was being drawn along their skin and the answer dawned on them both, their eyes connected and terror filled them both, knowing what was behind this before their consciousness was shattered by indescribable pain

The brilliant electric blue nebula suddenly darkened and masses of foggy black tendrils extended out followed by a large cloud of an identical black gas. The side of the cloud facing the small ship began to swirl and vague mouth and eyes formed glowing red, like blood

The Creature yet a shriek that sounded like a million people crying out in terror and its tendrils wrapped around the ship pulling it closer towards its mouth

* * *

><p>Horrible images flowed through the Timelord's minds, each locked in the conglomeration of their worst fears, most dreadful memories and worse experiences of their lives. The Doctor fell against the console before falling to the floor<p>

_The Doctor was kneeling holding the lifeless corpse of his wife Martha Jones in his arms, her blood covering his hands, surrounded by other bodies. Tears flowing from his eyes he took in their faces. All of his old companions dead, all around him; Ace, Leela, Romana, Steven, Adric, Zoe, Jamie, their collective blood polling around the barren rocky desert around him, the sky full of the ships of the Daleks, Cybermen, Zygons, Autons, Sontarons, all of his enemies with the Master's crazed laughter filling his ears. _

_He looked ahead of him, still with Martha's body in his arms. The Tardis stood there, the only beacon he could cling to but before he could reach it, the sound of a great engine sounded and the time machine faded away_

_The Doctor looked at the sky and let out a scream of anguish and despair _

* * *

><p><em>The Rani was holding her daughter in her arms; the grown young woman looked up and smiled at her mother <em>

_Then the smiling young woman dissolved into dust in Rani's arms, the fine powder slipping through her arms and fingers _

_The Rani fell to her knees and gathered the dust in her hands only _

* * *

><p>The Doctor, still suffering from the nightmares regained enough consciousness to get to his knees in the control room and reached out, managing to grab the telepathic circuits<p>

'Get us away, get us away' he thought with all of his strength before falling back to the floor and the ship's engines suddenly kicked into life, burning almost white and whining as they strained to escape the grasp of the Nightmare Child and finally with an almighty burst of white light the ship broke free of the gassy tendrils, sending the ship hurtling into hyperspace

The Nightmare Child howled for the loss of its meal

* * *

><p>Rani and the Doctor stayed still recovering from the mental assault, lying on the floor by the console, awake but unable to summon the will to move, their steady breathing barely audible over the whirling of the hyperdrive. The Doctor spoke first, without moving or expression on his face<p>

"You all right?" he asked

"Are you?" Rani asked back, equally devoid of expression

Neither answered each other's question, they both knew the answer. Only the slightest of chances had allowed the Doctor's mind to clear for long enough to get to the controls and get them away. Even the most disciplined and strongest minded individuals could rarely overcome the powers of the Nightmare Child and even as the visions it had placed into their minds started to fade they still felt the emotions that came with them remained

Then an incessant blipping sounded on the console, Rani dragged herself to her feet and looked at the display, her face tensed as she shook off the remaining disorientation and as soon as she did her face became very serious

"The Hyperdrive is overheating, we need to find a planet to put down and make repairs" she said

The Doctor with great effort dragged himself up and looked at his own displays, he grimaced "The only planet in range is Peladon"

"But that's a" Rani started

"Dalek occupied planet I know" The Doctor interrupted "We have no choice, there's nowhere else"

Both Timelords grimaced as they flew the ship towards the Dalek slave world known as Peladon

* * *

><p><em>The description of the Nightmare Child was inspired by Parallax from the Green Lantern movie<em>


	4. Chapter 4

_I do not own Doctor Who or Torchwood or any of their characters_

**Chapter 4 – Occupation**

The ship sped towards Peladon with a trail of blue streaking behind, around the planet; hundreds of Dalek Saucer Ships encircled the planet presenting a near impenetrable wall around the dark green and black coloured world

In the control room the Doctor and Rani worked frantically to get the ship down in one piece

"There are ten thousand ships surrounding the planet, all combat ready" the Doctor said, rapidly operating switches and dials

"We can't hold her much longer we have to put down, check the cloaking device is it still online?" Rani asked as she to very quickly operated the controls

"Just" he answered

"Activate it, and hope that the Daleks don't pick up the emissions from the leaking engines" Rani told him

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The ship simmered as if it was underwater and waves passed over it before vanished

The Doctor and Rani in the shaking control room, pushing buttons and flicking switches, struggling to keep the ship from shaking itself apart and every moment moving closer to the Dalek Blockade, both the Doctor and Rani held their breath as they entered firing range

But the Daleks seemed to be lacking their normal ruthless efficiency and didn't see them and finally the two timelords let out their breath and the ship was missed by the Daleks

The stormy clouds hung low in the sky and almost surrounded the citadel where the kings and queens had ruled for many centuries, the crumbling battlements showing not just age but charred rubble, evident of the invasion that had swept this planet

They put the ship down near a cave system apart from the mines that ran beneath the surface of Peladon, its rich mineral deposits drawing the Daleks to this once troubled planet.

The Doctor and Rani carefully scanned the area but there were no Dalek patrols in sight so they slowly disembarked and crept out to look at the dark and gloomy landscape. The Rani hadn't been to Peladon before so she didn't feel the change but the Doctor did, the dark and gloom that was usually for Peladon now had a distinct chill in the air that had been absent the last time he had been here

It set his teeth on edge; he wanted to get off this planet now, so he and Rani set to work repairing their ship, unknowing that some company was coming

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A few hours later as the two Timelords worked the sounds of weapons fire greeted them and quickly they abandoned what they were doing, the Doctor went for the drive intent on taking off to avoid trouble but the Rani caught him by the shoulder with a firm hand

"The repairs aren't done yet, we're immobile till their finished and before you ask the cloaking device is out too" she told him and he looked extremely nervous

Rani released her grip and walked over to a cabinet on the nearby wall and opened it, revealing a wide range of weaponry and the Doctor's jaw dropped

"I came prepared" she said while pulling a Thal Photon Pulse Blaster off the wall, it was similar to what he had used to threaten the dalek he and Rose had met in Utah 2012 down in the Vault. And without another word walked out the door and the Doctor followed

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The sight that greeted them at the mouth of the cave was exactly what they had expected, a small group of natives armed with weapons that looked like they had been put together from rusted pieces of scrap, crouching behind rocks firing uselessly at five daleks who hovered a short distance away firing their own weapons with deadly accuracy at the locals who's own weapons were next to useless against the shields and armour of the dalek casings.

Rani carefully took aim and lined her shot on the closest dalek and pulled the trigger, a burst of bright blue and white energy went straight into the target and breached both the shield and the armour causing the dalek to explode in a fiery blast. Not wasting any time Rani lined up on her next target and fired without any expression on her face

The Doctor almost shuddered at the lack of expression on her face and ice in her gaze. This was the Rani he had known before the war; cold, ruthless and calculating.

The rebels turned to face them and Rani caught in the moment turned her weapon on them, realising the danger he quickly ran over and gently pushed the barrel of the Rani's weapon away from the natives.

Then one of the male came over to me and Rani, nervously eying the large weapon in the Rani's eyes but still he held his fear back and stopped a short distance from them

"Thank you for your help, we feared that even not even Aggedor would be able to save us" the male said, he was a young man with the typical streaks of burgundy in his otherwise blond hair, but his eyes showed so much more that a young man of his age should have; the pain of loss and the hatred that could be seen deep in their depths that would scar him for life. Upon seeing this some softness began to return to the Rani's brown eyes much to the Doctor's relief

Then the young man spoke again "If maybe we could move inside, I wouldn't want to out in the open when the daleks come to investigate"

The Doctor gave him a smile and nodded "Of course come on in"

The rest of the native group moved towards the cave when one young woman in the group caught his eye. She wasn't a native of Peladon, her rather tussled and dust covered brown hair was evidence of that, the grey overalls she was wearing hung loosely off her frame showing that she must have lost a long of weight during the dalek occupation but it was her face that really, it was thin like the rest of her body but still had some softness of youth and her light grey eyes that were so familiar to the Doctor that he immediately knew who she was

"Nyssa" he called out and the young woman from Traken looked up and although he too had changed, she knew who he was too when she looked deeply into his eyes

"Doctor" she said breathlessly

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx**

The Rani looked on as the Doctor rushed over to embrace the woman he apparently knew and almost swung her around in his arms, his gaze was happy and joyful but there was no romance to it, just a special kind of friendship, the sort that people can spent their entire lives looking for, where no matter how long the odds or how dangerous the situation they would always be there when you needed them.

But the reunion that she was witnessing was the last thing on her mind, the thing occupying Rani's mind was way she had slid back into the role of the cold soldier, if the Doctor hadn't stopped her, she might have fired on those natives and not even thought about it. She shuddered at the recollection of the unfeeling state she'd unconsciously slipped into

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"How did you get here Nyssa, I thought you were on Terminus helping deal with the Lazar's Disease?" The Doctor asked her as they sat down on some rocks inside the cave, her eyes suddenly went from joyous to solemn as painful memories were replayed inside her mind

"I was, the Vanir and I had just gotten everything set up and we were starting to make a difference when…they came" Nyssa started explaining, almost spitting the last two words out when the part about the Daleks but she quickly composed herself with the same dignity she had held when she travelled on the Tardis with his fifth self even after she'd lost her planet, her self-control had always impressed him and yet she was so strong even holding the high council of the Timelords at gun point something which could easily get her killed and staying a plagued space station to treat the sick even after narrowly being cured of the disease herself. It had been a privilege to travel with her

She continued more calmly "The Daleks attacked Terminus because they wanted the Lazar Disease as a biological weapon against their enemies, they killed most of the Vanir and the rest of us were taken for slave labour that was almost a year and a half ago. Since we've just been moved from place to place wherever the Daleks need labour" she finished and looked down at her feet, but the Doctor placed his arm around her shoulders cursing the Daleks for yet again remaining true to form and ruining Nyssa's life more than had been done already by the likes of the Master. But he also felt his own guilt at leaving Nyssa behind, she'd wanted to go but it still didn't make him feel any better

"What regeneration are you now Doctor?" she asked trying to change the subject and he smiled

"My Ninth Regeneration, my tenth self. But still travelling around in the Tardis and now I got a wife and baby on the way" he told her and she looked up in surprise

"Who's the lucky girl then?" Nyssa asked looking at Rani but dismissing the possibility given how coolly the two timelords acted towards each other

"Martha Jones, she's a medical doctor from Earth. She's been travelling with me for a while" he said "I can't wait for you to meet her, she's brilliant, smart, and gorgeous" he started to describe Martha but Nyssa held her hand up to stop him

"She sounds it but right now Doctor perhaps we can deal with more pressing concerns" she said and a smile returned to her face "If you would let me I would like to treat my patient" she said turning to face another young woman that unlike Nyssa was definitely a native of Peladon, very young, younger than Nyssa but like all the others her eyes were filled pain but also there was guilt in her eyes like she'd done something so terrible that she could barely find the strength to go on, she seemed familiar but not like Nyssa like one would if they met someone they known for only a few days but much had happened in those few days then suddenly he'd put a name to the face

"Queen Thalira" he said, getting up from his stone seat with Nyssa to go over to the young queen and the monarch looked up to see an unfamiliar man

"And you are?" she asked in a harsh tone that didn't quite match her soft features but Nyssa jumped in

"He's the Doctor" Nyssa told her and Thalira looked at Nyssa like she'd lost her mind

"I know the Doctor as a white haired old man, this man can't be him" Thalira said sharply, her eyes narrowing

"The first time we met I was asking for your father, I had a companion called Sarah Jane Smith. A rouge group of Ice Warriors and a human called Eckersley was trying to get hold of your planet's resources of trisilicate for Galaxy 5 and he took you hostage until you were rescued by Aggedor who was shot by Eckersley" the Doctor said, recalling the first time they'd met

The sharp look in Thalira's eyes was replaced with shock "It is you Doctor but how?" she asked

The Doctor shook his head "I'll explain later but right now let's get you to the med bay" he said kindly but frowned when he saw the pain which plagued her every movement and his eyes met Nyssa's but she didn't react and led Thalira into the ship

The young man that the Doctor had spoken to earlier came forward "Will you let her stay here?" he asked, nervously for his queen's safety

"Of course" the Doctor reassured him and placed a reassuring hand on the young man's shoulder and the young man smiled

"The others will go back to our leader and tell them the queen is safe, I'll stay if you don't mind. They'll come back tomorrow and take her somewhere safe" he told the Doctor and the Doctor told him

"Feel free, I'll get you a bunk and something to eat" he said gently urging him into the ship "What's your name by the way?" the Doctor asked

The young man's small smile grew large and he said "Repek"

With the Queen now safe the other Peladonians with great care they crept out of the cave where the ship was concealed to re-join their fellow resistance fighters.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The night went on as the Doctor and Rani worked to fix their ship and Rebek, Nyssa and Thalira who had fallen asleep with the aid of a light sedative the Rani had given them, but just as the Doctor and Rani finally finished the repairs to the ship's hyperdrive, the cloister bell started to sound. They both looked up and wandered over to the control console to see what the ship's scanners had discovered and what they saw chilled them

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Above Peladon the Dalek Fleet began to move out of orbit to intercept an incoming threat, a large group of starships moved to meet the Daleks. These ships were all shaped like saucers just like the Daleks, but these new ships were stained red, just like blood. The Daleks started to fight their missiles but the red saucers emitted a blue wave that moved quickly at the Dalek fleet and struck their outer most vessels which shuddered and then shattered as the forces of the Could Have Been King drew ever closer to the planet and the Dalek fleet

The Rani started to activate the controls and the Doctor grabbed her by the shoulders

"What are you doing?" he demanded before she shrugged his grip off

"That's the Could Have Been King up there, you know as well as I do that if he can't have the planet he'll destroy it, if the Daleks lose, they'll destroy the planet. Whoever wins the planet's doomed and so are we if we don't get out of here" she said quickly and resumed starting up their ship

"But the Peladonians" he cried and a grim look crossed the Rani's face, but the steel resolve was there

"The People of Peladon died in the Time War, but if we leave now, we save two of them from that fate" she said, standing back to let him make the call

With a heavy heart the Doctor pressed the switches and the ship took off into the sky and then back into space dodging the battle that engulfed the two fleets close by. The Dalek Saucers were clearly losing given how many were exploding under the fire of the Could Have been King's ships. Then a Dalek saucer fired a device about the size of a large barrel straight into the nearby planet

As the device impacted a green coloured energy began to spread like enormous wave over the planet, followed by a massive fire that engulfed the whole planet, as the planet turned fiery debris began to fly off the planet until a massive explosion erupted from the planet's core and both the Daleks and the forces of the Could Have Been King were incinerated as debris flew off into space, the Doctor and Rani barely escaping by leaping to hyperspace just in time

The two Timelords stood I complete silence as tears spilled down their cheeks, the loss of a planet, millions of people, before their time filling them with sorrow

Rani composed herself and sniffed and returned to operate the controls and with a slightly distorted voice said

"No signs of pursuit but the cloaking device's field emitter burned out after we landed on the planet, we need to replace it"

"Where are we going to find the right technology in the middle of the Time War?" the Doctor said in a flat emotionless tone while his eyes displayed his inner turmoil

"Only one place close enough" Rani said

"Where?" the Doctor enquired

"Shada"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**


	5. Chapter 5

_I do not own Doctor Who or Torchwood_

**Chapter 5 – Shada**

"Shada, the prison?" the Doctor said disbelievingly, remembering his own encounter with it during his fourth life with Romana.

"Yes, the High Council rediscovered it shortly before the start of the war and retook control of it, and started using it as a prison again. If we can infiltrate it then we can salvage the right technology and repair the cloaking device, without it we can't infiltrate Gallifrey" she told him, pressing her point.

The Doctor wanted to argue, never wanting to have to see that prison again especially what might happen if they got caught but he sighed as he agreed that there was nowhere else nearby to get the right parts and infiltrate Gallifrey. With reluctance he nodded and the two timelords set the co-ordinates.

**DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW**

The Time ship piloted by the Doctor and Rani flew through the asteroid field gracefully dodging the large rocks as it made its way towards the planetoid its centre which was dominated by a large metal complex. The time ship moved slowly into a crater a way off from the prison complex.

The two timelords checked their instruments and once they were secure, they went to see their new companions who were now stirring from their slumber. Nyssa woke first, she smiled when she saw the Doctor but when she noticed the grim look on his face she frowned but realised the grim looks weren't directed at her but at Thalira and Repek. She swallowed when she realised something that something must have happened

Thalira was next to awake followed by Repek and they quickly sat up when they noticed the looks on the Doctor's and the Rani's faces

"What's happened?" Nyssa asked, breaking the silence and sitting up herself next to Thalira

"Peladon has been destroyed" Rani said

The reaction from all three of them at first was the same, shock. But that quickly turned to disbelief in Thalira and Repek

"That's impossible, you're lying" Thalira said, her voice faltering as the truth sunk in and desolation suddenly appeared as she withdrew into herself, Nyssa knowing the pain she was feeling, put a comforting arm around her shoulders. Repek's reaction was much more explosive

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, ITS BEEN DESTROYED" he yelled and startled Nyssa and Thalira who instinctively backed away, while the Doctor and Rani held firm in the face of his rage "WHY DIDN'T YOU DO ANYTHING?"

"There was nothing we could do. The Could Have Been King and his army attacked, rather than lose the planet to him; the Daleks destroyed the entire planet. I'm sorry there was no time to stop them; we barely managed to get away ourselves" The Doctor said remorsefully

"I should have been with them, I should have died with my people" Thalira said as she erupted into great sobs and Repek instantly lost steam and turned to his queen as did the others

"You did nothing wrong your highness" he said getting down on one knee in front of his queen and gently taking her hand to comfort her but she snatched it away

"I'm not a queen anymore; I never deserved to be queen. I couldn't protect our people from the Ice Warriors or Daleks and now my people have all died and I could do nothing, how pathetic am I?" Thalira cried in both anger and sorrow as she broke into tears again. The Rani and the Doctor held back, crushing their desire to comfort her while dealing with their own guilt at not doing anything themselves. Nyssa pulled the crying Thalira into her arms and comforted her; Repek waited a moment before doing the same

Rani decided she had to say something though "You're not pathetic Thalira, many empires and those who ruled them have fallen to the Daleks since long before your great grandfather was born. Tell me how could you possibly have stopped them?" Rani said, Thalira looking at her with an affronted look and started talking

"I could have…" but she stopped when nothing came into her mind, Rani took her hesitation as a chance to press her point

"Exactly there was nothing you could do. The Daleks are creatures of pure evil with more power than nearly empire in history with but a few exceptions. Even our people the Timelords could barely hold them back and we are millions of years older than your society. Thalira I know that at your core you will always feel responsible for what happened but I am going to make this pure and simple, it was not your fault and there was nothing you could have done" she said with her strong will burning in every word. Saying it with so much conviction that Thalira even started to believe it and the Doctor looked at her surprised but decided to get back to business

"We've landed on the Timelord Prison Planetoid of Shada, we need to salvage parts to fix the cloaking device so we can infiltrate Gallifrey and stop them tearing the time lock open and spilling the war out into the open universe, everyone will perish. We'll take you with us when were finished and once outside the time lock you can do whatever you like, but will you help us do this?" the Doctor asked their new companions, they shook their heads slowly, still shaken from what had happened. The Doctor managed to give them a reassuring smile

"The Rani and I will head out to investigate the prison, you three stay here in the Tardis and get some more rest. We'll be back once we get the parts" he said and both he and the Rani left the young three to grieve

**DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW**

The surface of the planetoid, although it had a breathable atmosphere was barren. Great mountainous rocks jutted out of the ground which was covered with soft grey sand and dust making walking difficult as their feet kept sinking into the water like surface.

"Why of all the places in the universe, did the High Council have to build a prison here?" Rani raged after getting stuck in the sand again and the Doctor having to pull her out which sent them tumbling and landing in a very undignified position with the Rani on top of the Doctor. If someone had seen them in that position, it would have led to some big misconceptions about their relationship before the two of them got up and dusted themselves down

"Probably because no-one could survive on the surface if they made it outside the prison complex" The Doctor told her as he patted down his coat before looking around and gave a huff, Rani looked over asking

"What?" he then pointed and just a few miles away the massive prison compound sat dark and imposing but both Timelords were too experienced and determined to let that stop them and so without another word they both kept making their way to their destination.

**DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW**

The walls of the prison were high and solid looking and dark red as was the same as the rest of the complex standing out from the grey of the planetoid it was based on. For hours The Doctor and Rani had looked around the walls for a way in but aside from a docking port at the very top of the structure all they could find was a very small duct that led into the complex. The Doctor removed the grate with his sonic screwdriver carefully so to not expose them but looked at the narrow passage and realised that he'd never fit. Rani looked and did some calculations in her head, assuming the passage didn't get any narrower she could just barely fit. She turned to face the Doctor

"I think I can get through there but to get the parts but I'll never get them back through the vent so I'll need you to pick me and the parts up from the landing pad" Rani said as she shrugging off her leather jacket and handing it to him

"But with the defence screen up we'll never get close and it's way too dangerous for you to go in there by yourself" The Doctor told her but the Rani decided to wave off the problem

"One thing at a time" and past him a small ear piece communicator that she retrieved from her jean pocket while putting another one on her own ear "I'll see about getting the parts and shutting down the defence screen but if you're not there to pick me up then it will be a bit pointless" and before he could stop her she quite ungraciously climbed into the vent and started with considerable effort to move along the tiny opening.

**DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW**

The light from outside quickly faded and Rani was left crawling along in complete darkness; she struggled to move through the narrow passage. She managed to put her sonic screwdriver her left hand and use it like a torch to light her way but all there was a seemingly never ending darkness, it sloped upwards on some occasions and down on others, the ducts diverted off to left or right. Taking a few random turns but generally heading forward. It had been almost an hour and no sign of an exit. Rani stayed calm, not letting horrible thoughts of being trapped in the labyrinth for the rest of her lives enter her mind but she was getting very tired and stopped to take a rest.

After a few steadying breathes she returned to her forward crawling and after nearly two hours finally she could see a small light in the distance. Ignoring the very obvious 'light at the end the tunnel' comment that sprang into her mind she kept moving forward till at last she reached a grate leading into one of the prison cell halls. Small blue pods lined the walls with gantries all around them allowing access in and out, in this hall alone there must have been nine hundred pods. She carefully looked through the grating to see if there was anyone around but it seemed deserted so Rani carefully used her sonic screwdriver to loosen the grate enough for her to slip out of the vent and into the hall. She stretched to loosen up after being copped up in the vent for so long before moving off to access the computer terminal, hoping that she could access the prison schematics and find the parts she needed but to her disappointment this particular terminal only contained information about the prisoners in this particular hall. Never mind she thought and looked through the list to see if there was anyone who might be helpful;

_Plocag – Charged with dangerous temporal experiments and theft of a TARDIS from Timelord Drax. Sentence 140 years _

_Commander Kotell – Sontaran, murdered twenty timelords during Sontaran invasion of Gallifrey beyond their ability to regenerate. Sentence 1908 years _

_Lieutenant Aresia – Human, assisted the rouge timelord known as the 'Master' in blackmailing several star systems with biological weapons and then releasing said weapons causing 100,000 near fatalities; only avoided when the other rogue Timelord known as the 'Doctor' assisted them in developing a cure. Sentence 856 years _

_Zoe Heriot –Human, charged with dangerous temporal experiments and accidental destruction of Grendule IV (Uninhabited). Sentence 340 years. Other information; was in the time period of his second life a companion to the second form of the rouge timelord known as the 'Doctor' before being returned to her own timeframe by order of the High Council of the Timelords. _

_*All prisoners aging halted while serving their sentence_

The Rani looked at the last one and looked deeper into her file. Zoe Heriot had indeed been a companion to the second Doctor and forced to return to her own time and place when the Doctor had been brought to trial by the Timelords with her memories erased. It seemed that after being returned Zoe had been recruited into a time travel project by her own people. The experiment had gone horribly wrong and a planet had been destroyed and several others placed in jeopardy, although Heriot had tried to stop the project when realising the dangers only to be ignored the whole group had been sent to Shada as punishment with their aging suspended while they served their sentences. The Psyche profile indicated she was a stable and clever girl who was not violent by nature.

Rani was uncertain given that Heriot had been here for a hundred years already how that time might have changed her, but she did need help and every other person on the list was either too dangerous or useless to her. So she called up the cell release and activated it before walking up the gantry to the pod which contained Zoe Heriot.

The blue screen parted into two as it opened revealing a young human woman with dark brown hair to her shoulders and a rounded face; she was wired up to some kind of neural interface that from what Rani had gathered kept the prisoner's minds in some kind of collective virtual environment while the pods maintained their bodies. Zoe's eyes slowly opened and she looked up surprised before her eyes focused on the Rani who released the hand restraints holding her in the pod

"I know your disorientated but welcome back to reality, I'm the Rani and I need your help" but before she could say another word she felt a gun muzzle being solved into her back, she passed her sonic screwdriver to Zoe who grasped it in her hand and Rani turned around slowly.

The thing holding her at gunpoint was a robot guard, Rani cursed herself for not being attentive enough to notice it approaching, the only excuse she had was the hovering guards were almost soundless.

"MOVE INTRUDER, YOU WILL BE QUESTIONED BY THE WARDEN" the robotic voice of the guard told her and the guard escorted her away, Rani could only pray it didn't notice what she'd done

**DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW**

She was led to an interrogation room were humiliatingly she was stripped down to her underwear and strapped to an upright examination table, she tried not to feel the cold but could barely stop herself shivering. The door opened and a rather overweight bald headed man in extremely gaudy timelord robes decorated with gold decorations entered. He looked over at Rani and leered at her body like it was a piece of meat. His gaze made the Rani extremely uncomfortable and she tried to ignore it, his features were familiar but she could not place it.

"Well it's not often we get uninvited guests here, especially not ones with as nice a form as you have my dear Rani" the bald man said to her coming over to stand next to the table where he put a sweaty and stubby hand over her right leg. His touch made her skin crawl but because she was restrained she couldn't move away.

"But you were always beautiful, even when you were the class ice queen back at the academy. No matter how much I pressured you, you would never give me the time of day" he told her withdrawing his hand and then after a brief flashback to her academy days the pieces fell into place

"Anzor" she remarked disbelievingly, by Rassilon she thought to herself he'd really let himself go in this regeneration.

"Yes there's that marvellous brain finally working" he remarked snidely "What are you doing here?" he asked, Rani reminded silent

"Okay then, I'll just have to reintroduce you to an old friend" he said and pulled a rod shaped device out of his robes which Rani gulped as she saw it remembering the device

"The Galvaniser" he told her like she needed to be reminded, the torture rod had been a source of great pain for her and her fellow class mates back at the academy while the class bully Anzor used it to lord over them; forcing her to do his chemistry and biological work while the Doctor was forced to do his navigational homework.

"It still works you know, I'll demonstrate if you don't tell me why you're here" Anzor said trying to sound threatening but the Rani could see through him to the coward he really was and so she stayed silent

With a sneer he jabbed the Galvaniser into her side and Rani gritted her teeth as pain surged through her body, she'd been on the receiving end of worse tortures but it didn't mean that this didn't hurt. After a minute he removed the rod and asked again but she refused to answer.

For over an hour this continued but Rani never said a word, Anzor flew into an impotent rage and struck her across the face leaving a bruise but still the Time Lady said nothing, as he was preparing to use the Galvaniser again an alarm sounded from nowhere.

"What now?" Anzor said annoyed and left the cell for a moment only to rush back inside in panic and a dark spot appearing on a certain lower area of his robes before some very large and aggressive men dressed in prisoner uniforms ran in behind him and dragged him out as he kicked and screamed. The prisoners were so caught up in getting the warden they didn't even notice her, leaving her strapped to the table. She struggled at her restraints but they wouldn't give, she let out an annoyed growl, slamming her head back against the table gently.

The door opened again and Zoe Heriot entered this time wielding Rani's sonic screwdriver and immediately used it to release Rani's restraints

"Thank you" Rani told her but had to ask while she put her clothes back on "What is going on?"

"I started a prison riot by letting all the prisoners out of their cells" Zoe told her and Rani almost groaned. While a prison riot would be good for a distraction in might make things difficult for them to steal the parts they needed and get out and they still had to disable the defences for the extraction

"Well if you're in you can help me steal some parts and get off this rock, an old friend of yours is waiting for the extraction The Doctor" Rani told her

"The who?" Zoe asked before remembering the Cybermen invasion of The Wheel where they'd met. It had been so long ago Zoe thought to herself.

The Rani frowned before she realised that the Timelords hadn't restored Zoe's other memories and so beyond their first encounter she wouldn't remember him, they'd have to fix that later but right now they had to get the stuff they needed and get out of here but first they headed to a main computer terminal to sabotage the defences

**DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW**

They rushed to the storage rooms and picked up the parts they needed which they placed on a gravity sled which rather than push back, the Rani told Zoe to get on which she took her sonic screwdriver and the control unit for the sled and sent the signal for the Doctor to be ready with the pick-up.

"What are you doing?" Zoe asked but Rani ignored her till she was finished making her changes and leapt on herself and saying to Zoe

"Just hang on tight" and the sled started to move very fast down the corridor as Rani controlled it hurtling through the corridors at break neck speed barely missing walls by inches as it turned. Zoe's hands were almost white as she gripped the edges of the sled hanging on for dear life. Passing prisoners and guards who had only moments to dodge before being hit by the speeding sled, one robot guard wasn't as lucky as it was smashed to bits after they hit it but they didn't slow down and were nearly at the landing pad.

As they zoomed out onto the giant flat open place they looked around for the ship but there was no sign of it!

"Come on Doctor for once in your life be on time" Rani muttered under her breath and saw from the passage behind them, robot guards were chasing them and just as they neared the edge of the platform the ship suddenly rose up from below and opened the cargo doors to let them in. The Sled flew straight off the ledge as they reached it barely making it inside the craft before the doors closed and they zoomed off back into space.

The Rani let out a sigh of relief when she felt the ship enter hyperspace, knowing for the moment that they were safe. Once they fitted the new parts they had only one stop left

Gallifrey

**DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW**

_This story lives; it will not be abandoned and gets close to its third act _

_If there is any particular person you want to see on Gallifrey please just either review or send me a message with your suggestions_


	6. Chapter 6

_I do not own Doctor Who_

**Chapter 6 – Arrival on Gallifrey**

The ship emerged from Hyperspace on the outskirts of the solar system in the constellation of Kasterborous where the planet of Gallifrey could be found. They engaged their cloaking device and moved as carefully and quickly as they could through the system not wanting to be detected.

The non-timelord members of their crew now including Zoe were all continuing to recuperate from their experiences while enjoying an Earth Media library of television programs and movies that Rani had placed on-board. The Doctor had been furious when he'd heard about Zoe being held on Shada for something that wasn't her fault. Both he and the Rani had examined the memory blocks created by the Timelords and would work with her to remove them once they had all returned to normal space.

After half an hour the ship entered orbit of the one place that both the Doctor and the Rani saw in their most pleasant and enjoyable dreams as well as their most dark and disturbing nightmares, Gallifrey, their homeworld. The planet they'd destroyed to save the rest of the universe.

As the ship entered the planet's atmosphere their tension level rose and they unconsciously gripped the console tightly so tightly they nearly broke the instruments they were operating. In their minds they saw images that had haunted them both for so long, the planet below their home burning over and over again in the inferno they'd created, and flames brighter than any star, wiping away everything in their path.

But those flames were not what greeted them as they looked through the monitor and instruments, the great burning orange sky dominated by twin suns, the forests that covered the surface with silver leaves blazing like a forest fire in the early morning sun, Re grass that covered the sloping plains and majestic mountains that were capped with snow.

"I suggest we don't land to close to the Capital, too greater a chance of discover" The Doctor said breaking them out of their thoughts and back onto more practical matters.

"If we intend to go to the Capital and we need too so we can find out how their breaching the time lock then we'd better find somewhere close to hide the ship" Rani told him. The Doctor decided to make a suggestion

"We could go to my family's estate, House Lungbarrow" he suggested and she nodded slowly, allowing him to take the control and take them to their destination.

The Rani herself had come from what despite the high standard of living that the Timelords had could be called the lower class, the bottom of the pile. Her family had little to no influence or history to its name, her father came from House Yannos but was excommunicated for his raping of his sister. Her mother unfortunately had been the sister who was raped and exiled too so the family would not have to deal with the shame of it all; it would be to damaging to their political standing. She was the product of that terrible crime, but despite the circumstances of her birth and the horrible situation it had thrust her into her mother had loved her and done her best to keep her safe, till she was murdered and House Yannos refused to have anything to do with her and she so was given to her hateful father, who beat and abused her till she was able to escape to the Timelord Academy. But once there Rani had had to fight tooth and nail for everything she had and it fuelled her desire to succeed leaving her with something of a chip on her shoulder. Her background had meant few if any of the students or even teachers at the academy would even talk to her let alone be friends, despite her incredible performance in her studies surpassing students from prominent families who ignored her or jeered at her.

The Doctor had endured similar treatment because of his low grades but he improved after Borusa had taken him under his wing and helped him go on a few early travels. Borusa was also one of the few people at the academy that would speak to her recognising her intelligence and showing her how to mask her feelings behind a constructed outer image she could project so people would leave her alone after she failed to react to their teasing. Then she'd finally gotten some respect if not friendship from other people when she'd joined DECA, there she was with people like her who rebelled against the status quo like the Doctor and even the Master.

The image she projected, one of superiority and lack of emotion had served her well allowing her to become one of the premier scientists of Gallifrey and a key designer of new Tardis models, House Yannos which was by then in decline from a loss of supporters had tried to cosy up to her to regain its lost influence only for her to take great pleasure in rebuffing them as coldly as they'd abandoned her and her mother. They'd lost their grand estate and their council seats and dissolved to the wind.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The estate of the House of Lungbarrow had remained largely untouched by the war the Daleks having focused their efforts on the Capital. The manor house was built style not to different to a Georgian style manor, standing tall and grand but its once great gardens stood wild and neglected. The Doctor and the Rani as quietly as possible landed their ship close to the manor; their landing brought their companions back to the control room.

Nyssa had asked what was going on and the Doctor and Rani finally explained to them what was going one; about the war becoming absolute hell and how the High Council had brought back the Master to fight for them. Nyssa had incredibly angry at that remembering the monster that had stolen her father's body and was responsible for the destruction of her home planet. How President Romana had been disposed and Rassilon risen to take her place, sending the war even more against the Timelords when he'd failed to act. And finally they told them about the Ultimate Sanction and what it meant. The four of them had been horrified at what they heard but the Doctor and Rani then told them of their own small faction made up largely or Renegade Timelords and a few others who knew better than to go along with Rassilon and that they'd stopped his plan but at the cost of leaving most of their number behind and then about their current mission.

The four had agreed to stay on the ship and stand guard over it, just to be sure Rani and set the isomorphic controls so only the Doctor and the Rani could fly it. They'd left the ship and made their way as stealthily as possible to the manor, they quickly reached the small courtyard outside the front door and made their way to door when four Raston Warrior Robots leapt in from nowhere in their superfast way. The Doctor and the Rani immediately froze and both hoped that it was the pre-war models that could only see by movement and were armed with arrows, rather than the improved models that had better sensors that could see and register anything moving or not an was armed with powerful neutron blasters made to fight on the front lines of the war. The crest of House Lungbarrow was stamped on their silver chests. The Doctor couldn't help remember that time in his third life when in the Death Zone just one of these robots had wiped out a whole squad of Cybermen without any damage to itself what so ever.

"Usually one calls before coming to visit" a voice said from the doorway they'd been aiming to get to. Slowly the two of them turned their heads to see a tall grey haired woman dressed in full prydonian robes of deep red and gold. She looked very imposing and regal, not the sort of woman you'd want to cross and her voice carried great wisdom and an underlying strength. The Doctor was suddenly under able to speak, something that might have made the Rani grin under different circumstances and the grey haired woman turned to face the Doctor and her expression softened

"Hello my son" she said with a subtle but definite warmth and the Doctor with a nervous smile replied "Hello mother" and with the press of a button on a controller hidden inside her sleeve Lady Lungbarrow to call her by her title dismissed the sentries and ushered the two of them into her home.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The interior of the manor was as glorious as its exterior, with dark wood carvings lining the walls and priceless art works too. A grand sweeping staircase was decorated with carved statues and intricate patterns, keepsakes assembled by the family from several different worlds over thousands of years stood all around the entrance hall. Lady Lungbarrow led the new arrivals to the dining room where a group of young timelords were sitting. The Doctor cried out in joy when he saw them

"Almund, Chovor, Celesia, Luton, Jobiska, Maljamin, Salpash" he said happily and dashed forward to pull the surprised group into a hug which they soon returned. Rani looked towards Lady Lungbarrow and asked

"Lady Lungbarrow" addressing her by her title but she was cut off midsentence

"My name is Wisdom, and you will call me by it. It's only on the High Council that I' am called Lady Lungbarrow" the stern older woman said with compromise

"Wisdom" Rani corrected "We've come to stop Rassilon and his followers from escaping the time lock and to rescue our allies. Will you assist us?" she asked

"My dear my entire house is against Rassilon, we keep ourselves silent for fear of drawing Rassilon's wrath as poor Flavia suffered" Wisdom told her sadly thinking of her old friend on the council who had been brutally murdered by Rassilon via intensified solar winds to deter dissent against him.

"How many are you?" Rani asked

"There is myself and my son's cousins as you see over there" Wisdom told her indicating the still happy group "As well as Innocet and her children John and Gillian upstairs and our current guests Leela and her children who lost everything after poor Andred died. We took them in" she said counting them off

"We need to arrange a meeting with our allies is it possible we could bring them here?" Rani asked

Wisdom hesitated not wanting to attract so much attention that a large meeting would bring so Rani decided to assure her

"We are very discreet and we can place the younger members of your family on our ship. They'd be perfectly safe till we can all leave" Rani told her deciding to trust the woman with this information

And with some reluctance Wisdom nodded her head

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Next Chapter – The Meeting and the Citadel_


	7. Chapter 7

_I do not own Doctor Who_

**Chapter 7 – Meeting **

Innocet and the younger members of the House of Lungbarrow were concealed on the ship with Repek, Nyssa, Thalira and Zoe. The other cousins to the Doctor waited with them and Wisdom as they sent out the signal the group had agreed on the upper bandwidths to call a meeting.

They waited for a number of hours on the estate till the first one arrived

"Hell Theta me old mate" Drax said to the Doctor giving him a manly hug that the Doctor returned and then turning to Rani and said with a cheeky grin to Rani "Hello there Ushas, you look great"

"Hello Drax" Rani said with a slight grin herself. Although she would never admit it, she liked Drax and his humour did make her laugh a bit, not that she'd tell him that.

Next to arrive was the Corsair who greeted the Doctor with a great manly hug which nearly crushed the smaller timelord but the Doctor laughed and hugged him back. The Corsair turned to face Rani who he had never met before and like a gentleman he kissed her hand as he introduced himself but before he went in he slapped her on the ass and moved quickly out of the way before a very flustered Rani could slap him back. The Doctor laughed before Rani silenced him with a death glare.

After that Gomer, Spandrall, Larna, Engin, Damon, Iris Wildthyme, Jelpax and Savar came. Then they were joined by the Praetorian a timelord who was obsessed with the ancient Roman Empire, enough so that he lived in it throughout its entire history. Then Homunculette and his sentient humanoid Tardis Marie came followed by Magus the Magician, Lex Legis, the Professor a fellow renegade to the Doctor and a few others after that. The Doctor and the Rani greeted them warmly and ushered them quickly into the house.

Most of the group that opposed the High Council and their President Rassilon was made up of Renegade Timelords like the Doctor and the Rani and a few more enlightened Timelords who stayed at home like Gomer and Spandrall, all the upheavals on Gallifrey prior to the Time War had led to many young timelords leaving home and becoming renegades hoping to get away from the corruption of their homeworld but they'd come back when the Time War began or otherwise been dragged back. Under the leadership of President Romana the renegades and whatever military forces that the Timelords could pull from their own history had managed to hold back the Daleks and even score a few major victories. But the High Council despised the renegades as a blot on their supposedly perfect society and overthrew Romana and awoke Rassilon to replace her. After that the war had truly descended into hell, Rassilon did very little to help the war effort and without effective leadership the forces of Gallifrey were easy prey for the Daleks and others horrors of the war. It had been impossible for the renegades to make any difference at that stage and they were drowning in chaos and then to compound their worries Rassilon had started work on his ridiculous plan for the 'Ultimate Sanction' which they all knew was complete madness but to prevent the renegades from interfering Rassilon had had many of the them killed as well as other timelords who opposed him like Flavia. So those who managed to survive came together and formed a group to stop him.

Ohica was the next to arrive; the woman from Karn had been a member of the Sisterhood and helped the Doctor end the rouge timelord Mobius once and for all. But when the war had started the demand for the life giving elixir was high and just to spite the Timelords the Daleks had attacked and decimated Karn leaving the Sisterhood's temple in ruins and the only survivor of the attack Ohica buried alive. The Corsair had been sent to get more elixir only to find the ruined temple and dug Ohica out. She was taken back to Gallifrey and inducted as a healer once the High Council had unlocked the dormant Timelord traits her people held having come from Gallifrey originally. She was haunted by the deaths of her 'sisters' and had had her old robes and tattoos removed and destroyed feeling unworthy of them as she the High Priestess had survived while those in her charge hadn't.

Over the course of two hours members came but far fewer than there had been. It saddened all to think that the group which had once had one hundred and eighty members was now cut down to only fifty and just when they had given up hope of anyone else coming three robed figures came to door. Wisdom quickly ushered them inside and the three lowered their hoods to show three familiar faces.

Romana was the first, now in her fourth body which was a mix of her first two. It was tall and statuesque and graceful like her first body while having the long shimmering blond hair and youthful features of her second. The Doctor and Romana had had a wartime romance of sorts so it was quite awkward between them. The second arrival was Rodan who had become a renegade sometime after the Sontaran invasion and the Doctor had problems connecting the image of the slightly arrogant and naïve co-ordinator she'd been who struggled outside the city limits with the tough and capable renegade timelord she was now.

The third person however was a big surprise

"Millennia" The Doctor said shocked "But I thought"

"That I died when you released me and Rallon from the influence of the Celestial Toymaker, I did" she said gently looking just as she had back at the Academy with her sweet and gentle nature showing through the softness of her gaze and expression and her hair as blue as she'd worn it back when they were younger. She explained her resurrection "When my family, House Brightshore found out what had happened to me they used their influence and wealth to get the High Council to bring me back" she said and gave the Doctor a hug which he returned

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX**

They all stepped into the dining room which was just large enough to fit them all even though most had to stand.

The Doctor and the Rani took centre stage at the head of the long table and all those present turned to face them. The Doctor decided to speak first although he did so nervously

"It's so good to see you all again" he said with genuine warmth "And thank you for coming today, I know it's been hard reliving the war over and over again" uncomfortable looks appeared on their faces as the unpleasant memories of dying in fire only to be reborn for it to happen again haunted them "But with the lock in place Rassilon can never again threaten the wider universe and neither can the war" he told them

"But now we can leave" Rani said taking the lead and astounding those present that were resigned to their fate "We have a ship capable of breaching the war without letting everything out but we need to make sure that Rassilon cannot escape again. Somehow he's weakening the time lock from inside the war" the group's expressions became quite alarmed "We need to stop him or everything we've fought for is for nothing. Does anyone have any idea of where to start?" Rani asked and Spandrall spoke up

"If Rassilon had a device or means of doing what you're saying he's doing, he'd have it in his Spire in the Capital"

Rani nodded gratefully "So while the Doctor and I infiltrate the Spire we need the rest of you to start gathering supplies for our new beginnings"

"Like what?" Romana asked

"Race banks, tardises, tardis coral, construction drones, as much of the Matrix as we can and so on. If we are going to start anew in the universe were going to need as much help as we can get" The Doctor told them

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX**

Rodan volunteered to get the Doctor and Rani into the Citadel so they could infiltrate the Spire while the rest of the group went to off to as carefully as possible gather the supplies they wanted. But before they could leave, Wisdom stopped them.

"I hope you're not planning on going to the Citadel dressed like that" she said critically eyeing their outfits. The Doctor was wearing his pinstriped suits in dark blue with his usual brown coat and trainers; the Rani was wearing a black fitted leather jacket and red blouse and her dark jeans and boots with a slight heel.

"What's wrong with it?" the Doctor asked, slightly miffed that at someone even his mother criticising his dress sense.

"Well its hardly going to fit in is it?" Wisdom said sternly while nearly shaking her head at her son's forgetfulness "If you're going to infiltrate the police state capital then you're going to have to at least look the part of normal citizens" she told them and disappeared quickly upstairs before returning with a pile of Prydonian robes.

"Oh no" the Doctor moaned, he hated the bulky and uncomfortable Prydonian robes and Rani felt the same way. It was part of the reason that the two of them liked wearing Earth clothes so much; they were far more comfortable and easier to move in.

"Needs must" the Rani said reluctantly as she took the female set of robes and went off to change, the Doctor took the males robes and grimaced as he looked at them before going off to change himself. They both soon returned and Wisdom and Rodan had to say that they did look the part. The full red and golden robes complete with full headdress looked genuinely imposing on the Doctor and the Rani, the Rani had tied her head up in the traditional bun and was pushing a hover pram.

"Why by Rassilon's rod do you have that thing?" Rodan asked

"Cover" Rani told her and showed them that under a holographic baby there was a backpack full of tools and a few weapons "It's actually dimensionally transcendental so it can be as big as it needs to be inside"

"I'd love something like that" The Doctor said marvelling at the special backpack

"Really I always thought your pockets were transcendental" Rani said cheekily, the Doctor pouted and was about to start talking but Rodan keen to get going interrupted them

"Well shall we get going?" she said and the three headed off to the waiting hover car

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX**

The Hover car moved quickly over the landscape and the occupants just sat in silence as they watched the landscape, the Doctor couldn't stand the silence and decided to start a conversation

"So Rodan how did you become a renegade?" he asked the driver of the car who grimaced at the inquiry and asked in a reluctant tone as if not wanting to speak about it

"Does it matter?"

The Doctor didn't seem to notice the reluctance in her voice even after the Rani shot him a warning glare and kept pressing the point

"Well we haven't got anything else to talk about?" and Rodan gave a sigh and decided to get it over with.

"Alright" she said "It started just after the Sontaran Invasion, after all the excitement had calmed down I was back doing the same old boring job that I'd been doing before, co-ordinating air traffic over Gallifrey. Back behind that forcefield doing the same boring tasks day after day that was irritating me before the invasion but after it they were driving me to almost climb the walls in frustration. I just had to do something, anything different as long as it was more exciting" she told them" Leela encouraged me to get out of the Capital, do something physical"

"So you decided that becoming a renegade was the way to do it?" The Doctor asked and Rodan shook her head

"No, I might have wanted to do something more exciting but I was still the proper timelord" she said sarcastically "So I signed up to be a technician on an exobiology expedition, it was just me and an older timelord named Antro. Strictly observational, we were just supposed to watch from our Tardis. The species we were studying were in a remote part of the Andromeda galaxy, while still a tribal society that resembled something of a mix between the Aztecs and the Celts of Earth they had some incredible healing abilities that could allow them to heal any injury in seconds even growing replacement limbs" she told them and Rani was intrigued by the sound of these creatures but let Rodan continue

"We parked our Tardis next to their village and the chameleon circuit disguised us a tree in of their jungle. But Antro wanted to meet them face to face despite our orders so he forced me out of the Tardis with him so we could introduce ourselves. The primitive Tribesmen thought we were some kind of demons emerging from a tree as they saw it, and jumped to the conclusion it was a portal to their hell. So they grabbed Antro and before I knew what was happening they'd ripped out both his hearts he couldn't regenerate and they would have done the same to me if I'd not managed to run into the jungle. The took our Tardis into their village and guarded it in case anymore demons came through" she told the horrified Doctor and Rani who were both experienced enough to know that such things happened

"I was alone and trapped without food or supplies on a primitive world far from home, I had to learn how to live off the land by trying different kinds of vegetation I could find" she said her voice trembling slightly as she felt the ghost of fear she'd felt back then "I had to find shelter from the local animals and tribes in the area while they hunted me. I watched the locals make their weapons from the jungle around them and I watched them hunt so that I could copy them and hunt myself" she said taking out a necklace from beneath her pink robes, it had a long and slightly curved tooth on the end "This is from my first kill, I hunted for food and to get animal skins to use for clothing after my robes were torn to shreds" she told them putting the necklace back beneath her robes "I lived like that for almost sixty seasons, nearly fifteen years in all" she told the amazed pair

"Then one night I noticed that the tribe who was holding the Tardis were packing up to move camp, so I took my chance and fired some flaming arrows into their village. The wooden huts caught fire easily and the tribe descended into chaos so I was able to run straight into their camp and got to the Tardis without hardly anyone noticing by the time they did I was already inside the capsule and took off heading straight home to Gallifrey" she told them "But when I got there the High Council isolated me from the rest of the population, saying that I'd exceeded their expectations. It turns out that given Antro's tendencies of breaking the rules they had been watching the expedition and had known what had happened and done nothing" she told her astonished passengers

"The High Council told the population that I was being rehabilitated to re-enter timelord society but in reality I was given a choice, become a time agent for the High Council or my family House Misitri would be as they put it 'dealt with'" Rodan said and the Doctor's already considerable anger at the High Council grew "So they trained me in secret to do whatever kind of job was required and then I was put to work and for two centuries I was the pawn carrying out acts of sabotage, theft, intimidation and murder amongst others on their behalf. Finally when they put you Doctor on trial with the Valeyard and everything, the truth was finally exposed and they were forced to free me. But afterwards when I tried to settle down on Gallifrey I felt them looking over my shoulder and once or twice they even tried to have me killed" she said taking a breath before continuing "So to protect myself I had to leave Gallifrey, so I stole a Tardis and left" she finished, The Doctor looked sadly at Rodan

"I'm sorry Rodan" he said but she waved it off

"Don't be I'm not, at least this way I can see the world for what it really is" Rodan told him and the conversation came to an end as they came into view of the great Citadel of the Timelords, with the piles of crashed ships that surrounded the broken glass bubble of the city.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX**


	8. Chapter 8

_I do not own Doctor Who_

_Thank you for reviewing my last chapter Stargate Time Traveller and SeverusHermioneForever_

**Chapter 8 – The Spire and Escape**

The permits that Rodan had procured for them all got them past the very tight security at the Citadel's entrance and they crossed into the ancient streets of the capital of the Gallifrey. It was much as the Doctor and Rani remembered, the tall grand looking buildings standing proud and timelords wandering the streets in the robes but there was now a chill in the air that had never been there before the war, the buildings which had once been the colour of sandstone and twinkled in the daylight sun light now seemed darker almost black and the timelords that now moved through its streets were sadistic laughing as they talked about how Rassilon how tortured a group of 'traitors'.

The three kept their heads down as they moved through the streets, passing soldiers and warrior robots at nearly every turn, it didn't take them long to find Rassilon's Spire. It was the tallest and by far the grandest of all the buildings in the city, lined with statues of a single timelord with piercing eyes that sent a shiver up their spines. The vanity and ego of Rassilon could never fail to astound. He had to have his image projected onto all parts of his residence to all who could see. The team of three pushing the hover pram to the base of the tower where the warrior robots, personally built and programmed by Rassilon himself the only things he'd trust guarded the entrance.

They stopped and Rani reached into the special backpack she'd brought and pulled out a robotic spider like thing, and sent it towards the guards who turned their blank faces towards it and raised their arms to strike it but the air around the spider began to shimmer and the robots came to a complete stand still within the blurring air. Rodan and the Doctor turned to Rani who smiled

"Short range temporal disruptor attached a small robot carrier, slows the passage of time to a complete stand still for a period within a small space" she said smugly and the group edged their way around the time distortion and got to the front door where they looked at the computer panel that was in the arch. The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and activated it only for there to be no reaction

"Deadlock sealed" the Doctor said annoyed and groaned

"Well we'd better think of something fast because that disruption is only going to hold the robots for a few minutes" Rani said and they started to try and think of a way to open the door but Rodan just pushed them aside

"Leave it to me" she said and started to type buttons on the panel and the electronic sounds she made sounded loosely like some kind of operatic melody. The door suddenly started to open and they all raced inside and just as the doors shut again the distortion field evaporated returning time to normal around the two robots. The Spider robot evaporated s the field disappeared like it was never there.

"Okay what was that?" the Rani asked her and Rodan smiled

"The Ballad of Rassilon fancied himself quite the Mozart, not his league though. I always loved listening to Mozart" Rodan said going on a bit of a rant but they all went over to the computer terminal and downloaded a floor plan of the entire tower.

"Looks like we're in luck he isn't home, there's an area at the top of the tower which is blank and nothing else on the floor plans seems to point towards what we're looking for" Rani said pointing to the large open space at the top of spire

"Well then comrades" the Doctor said looking excited "Let's go" he said and then started towards the lift and Rodan and the Rani ran after him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX**

The lift journey was long and boring ascending hundreds of floors before finally getting to the area they wanted. The top floor was vast and open, with areas for experiments and a library of sorts and all manner of strange objects lining the wall.

"Well then we'd best get busy before Rassilon gets back shouldn't we?" The Doctor said as he went off looking for whatever Rassilon was using to breach the lock or clues to whatever he was using. The Rani and Rodan went off to explore the rest of the area to see if there was anything else they could use. Rodan started to look at the artefacts and the library while Rani looked in the labs and computer records.

Rodan saw the bits and pieces that were incredibly important to Gallifreyian culture, the sash of Rassilon along with the key, the coronet and the rod of Rassilon. The Hand of Omega, the stellar manipulator that could reshape stars as the operator wished. She remembered hearing about how the Doctor how used it to destroy the original Skaro before the Daleks had learned how to pull the planet through time using the magnetron seconds before impact. There was also the statue Nemesis that now resembled a female timelord in Prydonian robes held in a stasis field till it was needed. It had seen much action in the war and was singular responsible for more dalek deaths than almost anyone or thing the Doctor notwithstanding.

There were some amaranths and fictional generators and a fully assembled de-mat gun amongst other things like the Armageddon Sapphire which was key to Rassilon's plan for the Ultimate Sanction, he planned to use the reality tearing weapon on the vortex ruptures to destroy all of space and time to allow the timelords to ascend into beings of pure consciousness alone. The Doctor and the Rani and their allies knew my just looking at his plan that there would be no ascension at least not by normal timelords; only Rassilon would, he would sacrifice everything for his own sake.

She moved over to the library of scrolls and books to examine them.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX**

The Rani was looking through the laboratory of Rassilon and was almost giddy with glee like a child in a candy shop; Rassilon from the looks of it had been trying to engineer a new race of Timelords for him to lead before he'd decided to go with the Ultimate Sanction. The improvements to the Timelord genome that had been devised were ingenious and she was planni8ng many of them carefully away in her back pack. She then turned her attention to the computer records and started reading up.

It looked like the new race he'd been planning would have had a regeneration cycle of at least twenty and the time leaper abilities similar to what the famous timelord K'anpo Rimpoche as well as far greater telepathy abilities like those of the infamous Salyavian or as he was otherwise known Professor Chronotis, escapee of Shada.

She knew that these improvements would be immensely helpful to them once they escaped the war so she stored them with care as well as downloading the database to a moveable hard drive. But then Rani came upon a data file which made her stop breathing for a moment. It was written by Rassilon himself at the dawn of Timelord history:

_I have placed the limitations I have devised within the genome of the people; the new title that has been decided to call ourselves by is the Timelords. These limitations will stop the continued evolution of them as a species while I continue onto greater power; I will not have my dominion over them threatened by them becoming too powerful or at least as powerful as I am. Already the fools have labelled me the founder of our new race; the actions of the Other and Omega will largely be forgotten as I rewrite history. As Omega was such as old friend before I sacrificed him to that supernova I will allow him the credit of creating the Stellar manipulation technology despite that he created most of the advanced technology that I already have the fools believing I made such as transcendental engineering. The Other will forgotten completely, he may have devised the biological improvements to our genome by exposure to the Space Time Vortex such as the key concept of regeneration but the man was such I thorn in my side I shall endeavour to make sure he is forgotten by all even his own family, the House of Lungbarrow. _

_My previous involvement in the creation of two oldest threats faced by the newly renamed Timelords has already been covered up, I created both the species known as the Racnoss and the Great Vampires to serve me but they became too strong for me to control so I will make sure that this does not happen a third time..._

Rani stopped reading as the download continued; she couldn't believe what she was reading. She could believe that Rassilon would take credit for the work of others and even that he would prevent the Timelords from evolving further to maintain his own power but that he would create two of the greatest evils that had ever threatened the universe in its entire history. For a short time before they had managed to bring the bowships forward through history, the Daleks had resurrected the Great Vampires and unleashed them on the Timelords during the war. Entire planets had been sucked dry by the monstrosities before they'd been stopped, and of course the infamous Racnoss were known to all Gallifrey.

And the man that the Timelords had worshiped, especially for stopping them had created the vile creatures all to increase his own powers and even though the experiments had gotten out of his control, he's still managed to increase his influence on the timelords anyway.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

While the Rani was making her unexpected discoveries the Doctor was searching for their objective, the way which Rassilon was breaking the time lock. He found a smaller area that was locked off from the main one with a code lock which unlike the main door lock wasn't deadlock sealed. Once he was inside he found a room about the size of his Tardis's control room. At its centre was a strange looking device. At its base was some kind of computer which was connected to three transparent orbs that had some kind of purple substance swirling inside them. On top of the Computer was a Chronton Crystal and attached to it was a lightning rod shaped thing pointing up and glowing purple at the end. He examined the device and then the computer terminal and found it was indeed the device they were looking for.

The device was basically a projector that focusing the immense power of three new Eyes like the Eye of Harmony to place pressure on a weak spot in the time lock created by Dalek Caan when he'd shifted back into the war through a very rare Chronton Crystal to put pressure on the tiny breach so it would become larger and actually breach the lock, to create the three new Eyes Rassilon had used the suns of three inhabited civilisations killing billions. The Doctor almost growled in anger as he read on, but then he noticed that there was something called 'Cell Observation'. Curious the Doctor activated the protocol and three disguised doors opened behind him. He whipped around and saw three Z-Neutrino cages crackling yellow around three figures in ragged Timelord robes. The Doctor stepped up as close as dared to the cages and once he got a better look he saw that there was two men and one woman, he then recognised one of the men

"K'anpo" he said surprised, the appearance of his old friend was definitely worse for wear. His Tibetan robes were blackened and shredded to almost ribbons, his hair and skin were greasy and deep shadows had formed under his eyes. He was still in the form he'd been in the last time they'd met when he'd helped the regeneration of his third incarnation into his fourth but he'd definitely been through some rough times since.

"Hello Doctor my old friend" K'anpo said back to the Doctor smiling "I trust you have been well"

"As well as can be" the Doctor said with a gentle smile before turning to look at the occupants of the other cells and only one of them was vaguely familiar. It was the female scientist from Cambridge that had helped him, Romana and Chronotis back in his fourth body. He struggled to remember her name…Claire that was it he thought to himself. She too looked like she'd been through an ordeal, her clothes were so badly torn she was holding them against her too thin body to maintain some dignity; her hair was very messy, greasy and stuck together in places.

"Claire what are you doing here?" he asked the young woman but when she looked at him the eyes didn't match the body. They were old eyes, the kind of eyes that had seem centuries pass and seen so much, eyes that didn't belong on a human that couldn't be older than thirty.

"If only it was Claire old friend" the woman who appeared to be Claire said "But I am sad to say she no longer exists outside of the small amount of her I carry" she said

"Who are you?" the Doctor asked

"You once knew me as Professor Chronotis or Salyavin if you like" she said calmly and the Doctor looked on suspiciously before she sighed

"When I knew Chronotis he was an old man in his last regeneration, I met a woman named Claire who looked like you at the same time, would you like to explain?" the Doctor said and the woman said

"It was my last regeneration the previous time we met, but the High Council wanted my telepathic abilities for their own use but when they finally cornered me I was dying for the last of final time" she told him "But Claire was close at hand and so using the mind link that we had once shared they forced my mind into her body and kept it in stasis till they had altered it to hold my consciousness" she said sadly. The Doctor remarked as she opened her mind to him so through the gaps in the cage he could see the truth in her mind

"Chronotis, it is you" he remarked as yet another of the High Council's misdeeds came to light and he said "It's good to see you old friend but why are the others here?" he asked

"It's perfectly obvious Doctor to be used, me for my telepathic powers and K'anpo for his vortex leaping abilities" Chronotis told him and the Doctor turned to the other man and this one he didn't recognise and asked Chronotis "Who is that?"

"I can hear perfectly fine Doctor and for your information we have met before" the unknown man said abruptly "My name is Omega"

"Omega but your dead, I was there I saw it happen" the Doctor said shocked, if it was Omega he was in a new form. This one had no hair just a bald hair with very stern looking features that may have been carved from granite he looked impatiently at the Doctor

"I was resurrected by that fraud Rassilon do you really think he could come up with a machine like that on his own" he said gesturing at the machine behind the Doctor "No he needed me to escape so he brought me back and forced me to design it for him" Omega told him "Now would you unlock the cells now, I'd like to stretch my legs" he said annoyed and with some trepidation the Doctor did just that. The crackling yellow energy disappeared and the three prisoners moved slowly from their cages and stretched to loosen up their cramped muscles.

Rodan and Rani came through the door carrying the special backpack and were about to tell the Doctor something when they noticed the other timelords

"Who are these people? Doctor we're supposed to be incognito here" The Rani said crossly

"Rodan, Rani Meet Professor Chronotis, K'anpo Rimpoche and Omega three of the greatest Timelords ever" he said excitedly and the two women looked on with awe

"What?" Rani said puzzled but Omega snapped her out of it

"Come on you bunch of idiots let's sabotage the damn machine and get out of here" he snapped and Rani almost scowled but agreed they needed to do that. Who knew when Rassilon who be back and the longer they stayed the more likely it was they were going to be discovered

"Well if we just smash the machine, he'll rebuild it" Rodan pointed out and Rani suggested

"What if we took the Crystal?" she said and as the group turned to look at her "Chronton Crystals like this only come from a couple of planets and all of them were never touched by the war so there's no possibility of him getting another one" she told them and Omega looked at her

"Well there is a good brain in that body of yours after all" he said eying her body up and down, Rani said flirtatiously back

"Yeah think you can manage the whole package?" she challenged and a twinkle in Omega's eyes told her he was about to answer her challenge but the Doctor interrupted

"Oi you two flirt later, save the universe later" he insisted and he deactivated the device with its console so with great care he pulled the crystal free

"Why don't we just smash it?" Rodan suggested and Chronotis just shook her head

"If we do that they can reassemble it from the shards, we'd best take it with us" he said and quickly they put the all-important crystal into the backpack and the group left the dark and gloomy with the now dead device.

They got back into the main area and the Doctor noticed that all the books and scrolls as well as most the artefacts were missing, he turned to Rodan and Rani who gave a smile each

"Well we thought we borrow a few things" and the Doctor smiled and they continued towards the elevator when to their horror it beeped to announce an arrival and out stepped Rassilon, one of his Chancellors and what looked like the Master, looking as he had when posing as Professor Yana!

Rassilon saw them immediately and snarled "You dare to invade my chambers" and he gestured with his gauntlet but Omega grabbed a similar gauntlet device that Rani and Rodan had left earlier and clenched it. Both glowed blue but seemed to cancel each other out

"Of course now I recognise you Lord Doctor and Lady Rani your presence is most unexpected" Rassilon said with a cruel smirk thinking that the two of them must have been trapped within the war with them rather than escape.

"Well I can't say it's a pleasure Rassilon" Rani said with gritted teeth before turning to the Master "How are you here? We watched you die"

"I've always been prepared for death and how to avoid it my dear Rani, I hid several copies of myself with my personality all over the cosmos. If I was ever killed, my last act would be to send a signal with a compressed burst of my memories through time in a hypercube to activate one of the clones so as long as just one of the clones exists so will I" the Master said with a smirk and Rassilon then waved his glove at the Master as a warning who immediately cowered but with defiant in his eyes

"He has his uses" Rassilon told them dismissing the Master as just another pawn in his game and turned back to them but in the second his attention was elsewhere Omega acted and waved his own glove, causing both the Master and the Chancellor who were unshielded to evaporate while only Rassilon's own gauntlet protected him and two energy field collided and the two men stayed in a dead lock

"Go hurry" Omega told them as he held the Master in place and with a mournful nod the Doctor and the rest of the group ran for the elevator, Rani paused for a moment to give Omega a kiss on the cheek before running to join them.

As the lift doors closed the last thing they saw was Rassilon struggling as Omega drew closer to him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

At the bottom of the lift the group of five armed themselves with disruptor pistols with the exception of the Doctor and opened the front door to see the robot guards still in place. But before either of them could do anything, shots from the group hit them on the chest area causing them to shut down till their auto repair systems could fix the damage. Not waiting long enough to find out how long that would take the group ran for the hover car which was parked nearby.

They jumped into the open top vehicle and Rodan started her up and almost immediately the car rocketed into the sky with such force that the group was forced back into their seats. The car shot through one of the breaches in dome and sped away from the city. They looked around but could see no sign of pursue but taking no chances they continued back to the estate at full speed.

When they arrived back at the ship Wisdom was waiting

"Mum! Are we ready?" the Doctor asked and Wisdom nodded

"Yes we have everything we needed on-board and all the members of your group are on-board too, they even managed to get some members of their families to come with them" Wisdom told them as they hurried inside the ship.

"How many?" Rain asked as she went straight for the console where Romana, Drax, Damon and Lex were waiting.

"About two hundred all together, so two hundred fifty total" Wisdom said as the Doctor and Rani went to work on the controls and the ship lifted gracefully off the ground and started off into orbit as quickly as I could. Unlocking the isomorphic controls the Doctor said

"Guys we could use some help here"

Romana, Drax, Damon and Lex quickly took up the remaining positions on six sided console as the worked as one to pilot it.

"Battle Tardises incoming" Romana said from the sensor console and so Rani pushed the sublight engines as fast as she could to get them far enough away from the planet to jump to hyperspace. The Battle Tardises closed in and fired temporal torpedoes, the deadly projectiles streaked towards the escaping ship only for just as they were about to hit the ship leapt into hyperspace leaving the torpedoes to fly on forever more never to reach their target.

There was a feeling of intense relief in the Control Room as the ship jumped to hyperspace and left Gallifrey far behind. But then Romana saw a worrying sight on the rear scanners

"We're not out of the woods yet" she said and on her scopes she could see three Battle Tardises were following close behind

"Well they can't fire their torpedoes in hyperspace, the different physics of this kind of space would tear them apart" Rani told them

"But they can follow us to ill we drop out of hyperspace and ambush us then" Damon said grimly

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The ship sped on nearing its destination, the people in the control room were visited by Nyssa who told them that everyone was fine and she would keep an eye on them.

The ship finally dropped out of hyperspace and immediately prepared to pass through the time lock to escape, just after them were the Battle Tardises who armed their torpedoes preparing to close in for the kill. But as they all sped pass the nebula that the Doctor and the Rani had passed by before when they had arrived four gassy tendrils shot out of the gas cloud. The Doctor and the Rani barely avoided the tendril meant for them but the three Battle Tardises weren't so lucky as the Nightmare Child reached out to pull them closer to its massive jaws.

In the Control Room there was a stunned silence as they watched their unlikely saviour grab their foes but immediately went back to business as the Rani started to go through the time lock again, before the shaking got too bad the Doctor spoke into the ship's intercom

"All hands, oh I love saying that" the Doctor remarked gleefully "We are about to pass through the time lock, this will be very rough so hold on tight" he said more seriously as the ship started to shake, gently at first but then more violently until they were all thrown to the floor.

But then all of a sudden the shaking stopped, they all pulled themselves to their feet and checked their instruments

"We did it we're out" Romana explained joyfully and they all started cheering and giving each other hugs. Wisdom got a one from a Drax who was caught up in the moment but despite looking a bit offended everyone could see the gleam in her eyes, the joy. At long last they were free.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_On Earth…Later that day_

It was something on a miserable new year's eve for the members of the new timelords, the very hearts and souls of their group, the Doctor and the Rani had left nearly a week ago to go on some dangerous mission to save the universe and no one knew if they were coming back. Martha was absolutely miserable despite whatever her parents and sisters tried to do to cheer her up as she gently put her hand on her pregnant stomach, fearing that this child would never know its father. Then as Mia and Yuri looked up at the sky they saw a dark shape descending.

"Everyone look" Mia called out and so Martha, Trish, Mickey, Susan, Sally, Jenny, Lucy, Melody and Christina came running out to look up as the dark shape descended. Then Susan recognised the shape

"It's them, its grandfather and grandmother" she called out and everyone cheered as the landed gently on the group and the landing bay doors opened. Out stepped the Doctor and Rani and the group went crazy as they rushed forward to hug the two timelords they'd feared they never see again. The joy only grew when the other occupants of the ship exited revealing nearly two hundred and fifty timelords, two humans and two Peladonians. Martha was first in line and wrapped the Doctor in such a tight hug for a moment he fear he'd might suffocate but he didn't care and gave his beloved wife one back as carefully as he could. Wisdom stepped forward to the couple and looked at Martha up and down. The couple broke apart to both face Wisdom

"Mother this is my wife Martha Jones" the Doctor introduced nervously and Martha looked surprised at the Doctor and then back at Wisdom who just stared emotionlessly at her. Martha reached out her hand and said nervously to her mother in law

"Nice to meet you" Wisdom didn't take her hand immediately but slowly shook it before saying

"I was anxious to the woman how'd managed to win my son's heart" she said seriously letting the couple sweat a little before letting a warm smile show "But I see he has found a genuinely wonderful woman for a wife" Wisdom told them and took hold of Martha's arms gently "Welcome to House Lungbarrow my daughter" she said and Martha and the Doctor's faces relaxed

Rani watched with a smile on her face before slipping off back into the ship as the two groups introduced each other and took some scrolls out of the transcendental backpack, the script on the scrolls was scratchy and a bit difficult to read but it seemed to have been written by the Visionary of Gallifrey and for told of a war of some kind between the Timelords and a force known as 'The Silence' that would happen very soon. Rani knew the Timelords were in no shape for a war yet so she would have to prepare. She looked at the six race banks that Spandrall and Gomer had managed to steal and a plan came into her mind, one inspired by Rassilon of all people.

I will create several new races of Timelord crossed with other races. They will be given knowledge and allowed to develop it in their own way but be programmed not to harm each other and the main timelords themselves as well as the urge to explore and to learn.

There would be a human hybrid race of course; their drive, ingenuity and aggression would drive them to make great progress the Rani thought gleefully

Then the Chula with their capabilities as both warriors and with nanotechnology

The Monan Host would be next with their ingenuity with time ships and devices

The Arcadians with their engineering skills and the Kahler for the same reason

The Silurians with their ability to adapt to environments and biological engineering capabilities

The Draconians would be next with their high moral code and strong belief in honour, who would balance out the species.

The Tellarians with their incredible mental powers in telepathy and psychokinetic powers as well as their technology based on those psychic skills, Rani could only imagine how they could combine time travel knowledge with their psychic abilities.

Those races would be great allies in the war with this as yet unknown foe, but they would not be the only preparations Rani would make. Now with the race banks she could also crank out more time babies and with the biological data she'd gathered from the labs in Rassilon's Spire she'd unlock the blocks he'd put on the timelord genome to allow their species to evolve again while she incorporated the stronger telepathic abilities of Chronotis and the vortex leaper abilities of K'anpo Rimpoche into the genome too. Even if they could immediately use these abilities their descendants would as would the younger members of their species.

She'd also try to find more people to help the new timelord races develop by pushing their progress, old companions of the Doctor would probably be a good place to start since they already would be aware of life on other planets and if the Doctor trusted them well it was a good sign of their character.

A new homeworld would have to be found and prepared but with the equipment they'd brought from Gallifrey that shouldn't be too difficult and with all the notes and equipment they stolen from Rassilon like the Hand of Omega creating a new Eye of Harmony wouldn't be too difficult.

As she completed making her plans and thought of a way to propose them to the others, by both her hearts Rani swore that the Timelords would rise again

Stronger than ever…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Final Chapter next – The Epilogue_

_The New Timelord races idea came from Stargate Time Traveller who let me use it, thank you _


	9. Chapter 9

_I do not own Doctor Who_

**Chapter 9 – Epilogue**

On the planet of New Gallifrey due to some slight climate manipulation by a certain Timelord, it was snowing outside. The new capital city streets were white with snow and the whole city looked like an Earth Postcard, powered by a new Eye of Harmony created from the notes and tools they'd stolen from Rassilon's Spire.

Inside a Tardis parked in the capital's science building as there was in other buildings all over the planet there was a grand Christmas celebration going on. The grand hall of Rani's Tardis was decked out in decorations like the red and gold tinsel that hung from the walls and ceiling, a tall and grand Christmas tree stood in the corner with parcels wrapped in an array of dazzling colours, a warm fire burned in its hearth blocked by a safety guard to stop the little children from burning themselves who were running about playing with the Doctor's grown up cousins quite happily as the rest of the group looked on. The Doctor sat in one of the big chairs with Martha at his side holding their infant son who they'd decided to call Omega after the brave Timelord founder who had saved them not once but twice when he'd first held Rassilon at bay so they could escape from Gallifrey on that last visit but also just recently when one of the Master's clones had appeared and tried to open a link with the drumming inside his head into the war so Rassilon could escape. As the Doctor had struggled to prevent it after the Ood had warned him, Omega had appeared again on Rassilon's side of the link and pulled Rassilon back into the war, swearing to the Doctor that he would keep him forever contained as he relived the end of the time war over and over again, the Master had aided Omega by blasting Rassilon with some kind of bio-electrical pulses this version of him could fire after finding out the it had been Rassilon who put the drumming in his head and ruined the Master's life. The clone of Master had perished doing this and the Doctor had too from radiation poisoning as he saved Wilfred Mott only to regenerate into his eleventh form. Martha had had to adjust a bit but he was still the Doctor she loved and eventually got over it and had even thought about what her new form might be once she regenerated.

At the Doctor and Martha's side was a new version of his robotic dog K-9. The fifth version of this mechanical pet was equipped with improved systems, a forcefield and hover jets so it could fly about. The Doctor had built it solely for the purpose of protecting Martha and their son and the little watchdog never strayed far from their side. Their little family had also been joined by a little human girl named Amelia Pond who was running around with the other children, her parents and later aunt had been erased from history by a crack in her bedroom wall that was in fact a crack in space and time, who Amelia still existed wasn't clear but she did exist and with no one left in the world Martha insisted they take her in. This was the first sign of the Silence according to the Visionary's predictions so Rani had taken the matter very serious and watched for any other cracks so they could be sealed. They had decided to wait till Amelia was grown up before giving her the option of becoming a Timelord.

Wisdom sat in a high backed chair to herself as she watched the children with some of the other adults like Jenny and Susan slipping her hot chocolate. Mia and Yuri now a married couple with their first child on the way sat in a chair of their own cuddling, Melody and Lucy stood talking with Sally in the corner discussing the new High Council run by its new President Wisdom.

Rani sat back on her own chair watching everyone else as she slipped her drink, the new Timelord species had been a hard sell to make to the others but eventually she persuaded them by saying that with so many different races they could keep each other in check so the blind arrogance and power mad nature of the old Timelords could never return. Each new species had members on the new High Council despite having worlds of their own and were developing nicely; the Tellarians for example had created incredibly useful temporal based psychic technologies and the others were building up their strength too. The upgrades she made to her own people had already born fruit; the younger generations were already showing signs of vortex leaping which K'anpo had endeavoured to teach them from his mountain retreat. But the biggest change was that once the limiters placed by Rassilon on their genome all the Timelords new and old had quickly developed the ability to absorb artron energy from the vortex and use it to recharge their regeneration cycles giving them infinite regenerations, they could still be killed but now if they were careful they could potentially live forever.

She looked at the group sitting closest to the fire Romana, K'anpo and Chronotis sat with the latest recruits to the new Timelords, despite creating hundreds more embryos from the race banks they'd acquired she had gone to see if any of the Doctor's former assistants would be willing to join them and become the New Timelords; Nyssa of course had done so immediately and was looking a lot healthier now they'd helped her recover from her treatment at the hands of the Daleks, Repek and Thalira had joined them too and as Thalira's pregnant stomach was a testament too quite in love. Zoe now with her memories restored sat in the arms of Jamie McCrimmon who like Zoe now had his full memories again; Leela was standing near the fireplace watching her own children playing with all the others. The fiery savage woman had become one of Wisdom's advisors her frank opinions were a breath of fresh air and cut out the crap.

Peri had been hard to convince to join them probably because of her previous experience with the Rani but had finally decided to join the timelords after the Doctor had put in a good word for her, she too sat near the fire joined by Lucie Miller, Liz Shaw, Steven Taylor, Chang Lee and Grace Halloway.

Another group sat close by made up of other companions to the Doctor like Christina de Souza, Sally Morgan, Thomas Brewster, Deborah Castle, Raine Creevy, Samson Griffin, Flip Jackson, June, Ria and Izzy Sinclair. Some of the companions she'd approached had turned the offer down because they were too involved in what they were doing where and when they were, others had been too important to the timeline to remove like Sara Jane Smith or Ace.

Mickey Smith and his wife Trish were sitting with their little girl who they had christened Jackie Smith playing with the little girl as she played with her alphabet blocks.

The atmosphere in the room was warm and soothing; no-one in it could find a care in the world as they celebrated Christmas, the Earth holiday which had been officially adopted by New Gallifrey and the other Timelord worlds.

Even as the storm clouds gathered on the horizon with the Silence threat looming, everyone just took one day to be thankful for what they had and each other.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX**

_The End _

_Thank you everyone for reading this story and again thank you that took the time to review and tell me what they thought. I'm sad to see this story end but I hope you enjoyed it _

_Sage1988 out_


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